Trader Joe's reducing plastic packaging for tea, produce, meats

As part of its efforts to limit plastic waste, grocery store Trader Joe’s is reducing plastic packaging for its products, Cooking Light reported.

“Taking into consideration our customer feedback and our desire to be great neighbors, we have been taking a careful look at our packaging and the opportunities that exist to make improvements, with respect to sustainability,” the company said in a Dec. 31, 2018 announcement.

“While most of the plastic in our packaging has the highest recyclability acceptance rate in the U.S., reducing the amount of plastic packaging in our stores is another important focus of our sustainability,” the announcement continued.

In addition to previous measures to improve sustainability, the company said it’s working on reducing the number of produce items sold in plastic packages and replacing Styrofoam trays in its fresh meat section; removing non-recyclable plastic and foil pouches from tea packages; replacing plastic sleeves on greeting cards with compostable material, and replacing bags for floral arrangements with renewable material.